Brittany Margiotta
Senior Director
With CES 2025 fast-approaching, exhibitors as well as those not attending but planning on announcing news timed with the event should have their media strategy set and feel confident in it. The right approach can often make or break the success of your announcement or launch moment, especially during a crowded and noisy CES 2025.
We connected with some influential media who continue to drive impactful conversations in consumer technology to understand what they are looking forward to at CES and some best practices for working with them.
What they’re excited to see at CES 2025
“Now that the CES “mojo” is back, I anticipate the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show to be an extraordinary showcase of personal technology, from brands big and small, to wow the massive crowds. In particular, there will be no shortage of AI-powered gadgets and gear (like AI PCs and smart home solutions), mixed reality headsets, health tech innovations, engaging home entertainment (like relatively affordable 100-inch TVs), and electric vehicles (though last year was quieter on that front).
While the “wow” items are always fun – robots, flying cars, and transparent TVs – I prefer the more practical examples of how tech can enhance and enrich our lives, personally and professionally.”— Marc Saltzman, technology columnist, author and host of the Tech It Out podcast and Tech Impact TV show
“Hoping to see conversational shopping AI agents that can buy merchandise featured on streaming shows, home robots and car AI assistants being deployed, anything to do with the rollout of robotaxis, delivery drones and eVTOLs, EV charging and other sustainable solutions leveraging AI to answer big problems. Most interested in well-known brands scaling with revenue, please disclose when products are just concepts and offer pre-show previews and interviews.”
— Martine Paris, BBC Features Correspondent & Forbes Tech Contributor
“One thing I’ll be interested to see is the degree to which generative AI has filtered into products in ways that are actually useful and interesting. It’s been a subject at the show for the last two years, but since it can take a while to roll it into product development, it’s felt more like hype than progress in most cases.”
— Harry McCracken, Global Technology Editor, Fast Company
What journalists think brands should be thinking about
“Brands should be thinking about creating big hooks with exciting visuals. Have a celebrity investor? A rockstar CEO? Get them to make an appearance. Offer immersive experiences at the booth like “come play ping pong with our robot bartender” or “fly through our autonomous fulfillment center on a 4D ride.” For after-hours networking, consider hosting evening salons close to the convention center. These are intimate dinner parties focused on specific topics of interest, with food and drinks served family-style. This enables the press to pop in and out quickly, with no commitment to eat. Send invites now, calendars book up quickly. Feel free to pitch for inclusion in my The Ultimate CES 2025 Guide and Best of CES 2025.”
—Martine Paris, BBC Features Correspondent & Forbes Tech Contributor
“CNET will have a team on the ground as usual covering CES but we typically hear from companies who share important news with us IN ADVANCE (like early December) so that we can do a more thorough job reporting/writing. We honor embargoes.
- SCOOPS and EXCLUSIVES: We appreciate having a chance to bring the news to the world first, especially on new consumer-related devices and services.
- TOPICS: As always, CNET is focused on all types of consumer devices — from smartphones, smart home, TVs, PC and audio tech, to interesting consumer services. We also will be on the lookout for AI-related news (again, not enterprise tech — we are a consumer tech site.)
- INTERESTING PEOPLE: We can do interviews (print and video) with interesting people (high-profile executives and other notables) but we need ADVANCE notice to set that up. Again, this is something that we would need to know about in December.”
— Connie Guglielmo, Editor At Large CNET
Regardless of if you are planning to announce news or show up onsite for in-person time with press, the right media strategy drives the success and results of your time, energy, and budget spent for CES 2025. From our CES experts to our media specialists, we’re happy to engage and partner on your CES plans and approach for 2025 ahead of the show. Reach out to learn more about our previous work or to schedule time to sync on-site.